NYANZA – The Ministry of Disaster Management and Refugees Affairs (MIDIMAR) hopes to get timely information on disasters following the distribution of cell phones to local leaders nationwide.The exercise, which is currently underway, seeks to equip social affairs officers at each of the country’s sectors with a mobile phone to communicate appropriately in case of any looming disaster.According to the Director of Disaster Management, Justin Kayira, the initiative is geared towards enhancing reporting and communication on disasters.Speaking last Friday during the distribution of the gadgets in Nyanza District, Kayira said: "We are expecting to get timely information so that we take appropriate measures to protect the lives of residents."Not only will these phones help to communicate and share information about disasters which occurred, but they will also contribute to limiting their consequences and sometimes preventing them,” he observed, urging officers to also report anything else presumed to put people’s lives in danger.The beneficiaries were also advised to convey daily reports "for the Government to be sure residents are safe”.The distribution of cell phones kicked off last Monday in Rubavu District with the campaign set to cover all districts by May 18.The project, which is supported by the World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Agency for Refugees (UNCHR), is part of a broader programme to enhance and improve reporting and communication on disasters within Rwanda, the MIDIMAR officials pointed out, with plans to distribute laptops at the district level also in the pipeline.Under the initiative, the sector social affairs officers, who act as heads of Sector Disaster Management Committees, are required to send data, via text messages or voice calls on a toll free line, to be fed and stored into a server at the MIDIMAR headquarters in Kigali.According to MIDIMAR Officials, the phones have begun to make an impact in areas where the mobile phones have already been distributed."Already, we are receiving short messages on disasters, especially in Rubavu and Nyabihu. This has prompted a quick, proper and timely intervention to ensure the safety of the population there,” Kayira noted.Last Wednesday, mudslides killed five people in Nyabihu District, Western Province, and destroyed over 140 houses as well as property whose value could not immediately be established, according to MIDIMAR. On Friday, officials from the ministry toured the disaster-hit areas to assess the damage and offered assistance to the victims. Most of the items distributed were mainly domestic materials.Last month, floods killed five people and destroyed over 265 houses and 876 hectares of crops in the Nyabihu, Musanze and Rubavu districts."We must work together to ensure the safety of our people”, Kayira appealed to the sector social affairs officers in Nyanza District."We are aware of the work overload you have. Disasters affect the social lives of our population, which you are mainly responsible for. Your collaboration will be very crucial in preventing and responding well to disasters.”"We want you to be more vigilant and report any occurrences. If you fail to report, residents will be most affected,” he warned.Nyanza District vice Mayor in charge of Social Affairs, Apolline Kambayire, observed that the information relayed through the cell phones would help the district predict future occurrences and plan accordingly."This will avail information on past disasters, their impacts and high-risk zones in the district. We will thus predict on future occurrences and plan accordingly.”